AdamNJ

There have been a few threads on the subject. The townhouse I bought a few months ago is about 13 yrs old as well at the HVAC forced air unit. While it is my first winter in the place, i feel that my gas bill is way too high. I am using a programmable thermostat and after the shock of my first bill I started lowering the temp throughout the day and drastically when I'm not there.

I'm going to try looking at the furnace based on what i read online (check flame color and shape, check burner tubes for rust.

But for anyone who has had cleaning service/maintenance done do you notice an improvement in your heating/gas bill? How much?

For reference:
- 13 yr old house & forced air hvac unit
- replacing the filter every few months - 3m filtrete 1700 (most expensive)
- house about 1200sf, a 12x12 bedroom door is closed and vents closed.
- I think insulation in the house is pretty good except for a 2-3 foot wall of a coat closet downstairs, and the garage itself isn't insulated.
- gas stove, gas dryer, gas water heater
- first winter bill gas was 240, second after temp adjustments was 190, most recent was 210.

HELP!

The Dougler

iTrader: (1)

with a gas dryer and stove, I don't think that bill is really all that far off.

AdamNJ

The gas bill for my mother's house isn't that much higher then mine and her house is probably 2x the sqft. She has hot water baseboard heat which is heated with gas. She does use her stove and dryer a lot more then I do, being single.

spdy0001

From what I have heard there are different levels of maintenance. They range from just a visual inspection/filter change to a full cleaning including the ducts. If you have your ducts cleaned it will probably make the system more efficient but I doubt you will notice much of a benifit. Also change your filter every month no matter what the package says

I have a heatpump so the only service they do on mine really is the filter change, so I do that myself.

Scrib

I would highly recommend you stop using those types of filters. They are well known to restrict air flow and burn out motors in furnaces because they're so tight. The best filter to use are the cheap, $1 paper-types. My HVAC guy says they get more calls because these filters cause so many issues.

http://www.lockergnome.com/oztech/20...e-air-filters/




If you want to get the best filtering system, consider a media filter like this:

http://yourhome.honeywell.com/Consum...nt/Default.htm

You're probably looking at $500 for the unit installed.

Also, consider getting on an annual plan to have the unit serviced. They'll come out and clean it once a year, test it, etc. The program I'm on also gets me discounted parts (should I ever need them) and priority service calls with no after-hour or weekend fees. My furnace and air conditioner cost me $180 a year.

Fibonacci

Wasn't aware of that, as I stocked up on the most expensive filtrete's too. Next winter will try one month w/ a cheapie and see if I notice a difference.

jupitersolo

Adam, I would say that your gas bills are about inline with what you should be paying. You might want to look at going on a budget billing. A steady amount through out the entire year. I pay $100 per month, no ups and downs. I do the same with the electirc, $125 per month.

On the filters I wouldn't use the cheap ass ones, but the top of the $$$ 3M's aren't worth the money. If you can use the Ace Hardware one's, 3 pack for about $11.00.

T Ho

How many therms/CCF of gas did you use? The $$$ can be deceiving, since rates are all over the place for different parts of the country.

I use the 3M Allergen filters. The reduction in the air flow is minimal, assuming you have the good sense to change it regularly (I do mine every 2-3 months). The POS spun fiberglass filters don't catch even half the dust in the air, and that stuff ends up in the firebox and on the blower. Pay me now (filters) or pay me later (new furnace). You do have to be careful to change it often enough, though, or you can run into real airflow problems, which can overheat the furnace in some cases.

I think I'll bring home a differential pressure gage to set up a test for the various filters.

AdamNJ

last bill:
134.987 therms @ 1.10343960 :: 148.95 + 65 for delivery = 214.26

this month:
103.594 therms @ 1.04919200 :: 108.69 + 51 for delivery = 160.09

no real changes other then avg temp 7 degrees higher.

pmptx

This place is great for a selection of filters at a reasonable price. Their internal brand is about $2/filter less than the comp 3M.
http://filtersnow.com/

Scrib

Wow. Your per therm cost is really high. Last month it was $0.80 for me and I thought I was getting raped. People in Illinois are paying $0.55 a therm.

Have you considered an alternative heat source, like a pellet stove?

SiGGy

For 1" filters don't buy the sharp pleated filtrete. The rounded filtrete's are OK. Night and day differnce in flow. Search back in this area I highlighted which are good and bad.

Also, these filters don't last 3 months. They needed to be replaced monthly...

Round, good not very restrive filter.


Sharp pleats, restrictive... dont buy these...

SiGGy

There's a bunch of sites that show the pressure drop stats on the filters. I'll have to dig it up but I found one guy who did the tests on a nice bench setup and even showed particle capture measurements. He was a super HVAC nerd But then again he was also selling his own filters. He made some nice (boring) videos of the tests though.

The filtrete 1085 is probably the best 1" all around filter out; for least amount of pressure drop and best particle capture. This being a filter you can pickup in the a local hardware store. There are a few other 1" filters that I have seen available only online with the same particle capture rate and better flow.


You can also buy a filter gauge to monitor when to actually change the filter... (pressure differential between supply and return)
http://www.amazon.com/General-G-99-A.../dp/B0009GZM12

Not as accurate as a nice manometer though. But it's a nice quick check gauge.